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Yoga Asanas - Yoga Poses Index

T he word yoga has its first mention in the Rig Veda, the oldest of the Vedas . This text, a collection of hymns or mantras, defines y...

The word yoga has its first mention in the Rig Veda, the oldest of the Vedas. This text, a collection of hymns or mantras, defines yoga as "yoking" or "discipline," but offers no accompanying systematic practice. The term yoga turns up again in the Atharva Veda, most particularly in the fifteenth book (Vratya Kanda) where it refers only to a means of harnessing or yoking, but focuses on the breath that needs controlling. The Vratya Kanda introduces a group of men, the Vratyas, who worshipped Rudra, the god of the wind. This Vratyas composed and performed songs and melodies. They found they could sing their songs a lot better-and probably hold the notes longer-if they practiced Praanaayaama, a type of breath control.

This, then, is the very beginning of yoga as we know it, the first mention of physical action as part of discipline or practice.

There are an innumerable Types of Yoga. Over the course of history, many different types of yoga have been lost to us. These types of Yoga are enumerated in various scriptures. The Bhagavad Gita enumerates Ashtanga Yoga, Bhakti Yoga,Gyana Yoga, and Karma Yoga.